Supported career planning

Eligibility criteria

To apply for Supported Career Planning, you must be a University of York undergraduate home student, or a University of York home graduate (with a bachelor's degree) who graduated in the last 12 months, with one or more of the personal circumstances listed below.

Personal circumstances:

• Disabled students, including those with a long term health or mental health condition, and students with a neurodiversity such as Autistic Spectrum Condition, ADHD, ADD, Dyslexia, Dyscalculia and Dyspraxia
• Students who are care leavers
• Students who are care experienced
• Estranged students (The term ‘estranged student’ describes someone who has no communication with both of their biological or adoptive parents, and the situation is likely to remain permanent)
• Students in receipt of a York Bursary or the Care Leavers and Estranged Students Bursary 
• Students who were eligible for free school meals or discretionary payments at high school/college (not including universal infant free school meals)
• Students who the address they lived at before applying to university is within an IMD Quintile 1 postcode area (only applicable to UK postcodes, please email careers@york.ac.uk if you’d like us to check this for you)

Eligibility criteria aligns with the Office for Students’ guidance on those student groups eligible to receive funding under the Progression part of York’s specific Access and Participation Plan. 

Please note that postgraduate and international students/graduates are not eligible to apply. If you don't meet the criteria, see What can I do now? (below) for other ways you can get support.

Because we are flexible around you and your needs, it can help with a wide variety of career steps. However, you might find it helpful to consider whether you relate to any of the following:

Using 1-2 hours of support

• Where to start: "I have no idea what my career options are and feel overwhelmed about where to start."
• Building connections: "I don't have professional networks or support systems to guide me in exploring my career options."
• Overcoming rejections: "I have experienced rejections during applications or interviews and need support understanding how to move forward."
• Disability and workplace adjustments: "I am a disabled student and want to understand how to articulate my needs or request reasonable adjustments during recruitment and in the workplace."
• Location restrictions: "I am restricted to a specific geographic area for work or further study, which is making my job search feel more difficult."

Using 3-6 hours of support

• Navigating complex career options with ongoing support: "I have no idea what my career options are and have complex circumstances, meaning I need ongoing support and a consistent contact to help me step-by-step."

• Finding flexible or location-specific roles: "I need a remote, part-time, or local opportunity (such as an internship, placement, part-time work, or graduate role) due to my personal or geographic circumstances, which is making my search more challenging."

• Navigating disability, health, and workplace adjustments: "I am a disabled student/graduate or have a fluctuating health/mental health condition. I need in-depth, ongoing guidance to understand my needs, request reasonable adjustments, and articulate them to employers throughout recruitment and into the workplace."

• Balancing life responsibilities and personal barriers: "I have additional life commitments, such as caring responsibilities or balancing work and study, that create significant barriers to exploring career paths and gaining experience."

• Building networks and understanding workplace expectations: "I lack professional networks, support systems, or familiarity with recruitment processes and workplace culture, which feels like a major barrier to starting or progressing my career."
• Navigating university transitions without family support: "I am an independent student feeling overwhelmed by the financial or personal pressure of securing work or study alongside my degree and transitioning beyond university without a family safety net."

Prior to your first session your allocated Careers Adviser will have emailed you to introduce themselves and arrange your first session together.  This will typically be a one-hour online session delivered via zoom.  

In your first meeting your Careers Adviser will explain a little more about Supported Career Planning, and talk with you about your goals and any potential barriers or concerns you might have. From there you will make a plan together about how they can best support you.

Your Careers Adviser will share a very simple Supported Career Planning Contract and Action log.   You and your adviser will use the action log to help you keep track of your meetings, any agreed actions for you to take in advance of your next meeting, and keep a log of any links/ resources your adviser has recommended.  

Your Careers Adviser will work with you to review your progress.  You can access anything from 1 hour up to a maximum of 6 hours of support.  

You can pause or stop support at any time, just let your Careers Adviser or Careers & Placements know (careers@york.ac.uk).  

Once you reach your goal for Supported Career Planning, or have accessed the maximum 6 hours, in your final session your Careers Adviser will encourage you to download a copy of your Supported Career Planning action log for you to keep and they will delete their copy.  

Following your final session, the Careers & Placements team will invite you to complete the Supported Career Planning Evaluation form, and outline how you can access any further careers support in the future (should you need it).

How you can make the most of Supported Career Planning:

It's absolutely fine if you don’t have your next steps figured out — that's what we're here to help with. Your Careers Advisor will guide you with tailored advice, useful information, and practical strategies to support your goals. However, real progress comes from what you choose to do outside the session. It's up to you to take what you’ve learned and put it into action between sessions.

In order to make the most of your sessions, you should:

• Make every effort to attend the Supported Career Planning sessions you have scheduled. If you need to reschedule due to exceptional circumstances, please give your Careers Advisor as much notice as possible and book an alternative date.
• Make sure you attend your Supported Career Planning sessions in an area where you can concentrate with minimal distraction.
• Be willing to put aside dedicated time to work on any agreed actions in between sessions.
• If you require any reasonable adjustments to access Supported Career Planning please outline these in your application so that we can best support you.
• We recommend that all sessions are completed within 6 months of your first session, unless in exceptional circumstances. **Please note that graduates who engage with Supported Career Planning must have completed all of their sessions within 15 months of graduation.

From 2021-present, 100% of those who completed Supported Career Planning said they'd recommend it to other students. Look at some of their stories to find out more.

**Please note that Supported Career Planning was previously called Career Coaching, and so case studies and videos may refer to this.

Video case studies

• Fiona
• Suzie
• Saffron
• Jordan
• Valentina
• Peter
• Megan

Written case studies

• Robyn (Social and Political Sciences) - Robyn case study  Quote ‘In the space of a few months, I went from being unable to envisage myself in full-time employment to having secured employment in my desired field with all the reasonable adjustments I needed to allow me to thrive in work’
• Sharmaine (Law LLB) - Sharmaine case study Quote ‘I was able to explain my fears and worries about the working world in a safe and understanding environment’
• Sofia (Human Geography and Environment) Quote ‘It is extremely useful to ask for help when looking at the different types of careers available to you, as sometimes we don’t think to look down certain paths, or underestimate our abilities’
• Martha (History) Quote ‘I would highly recommend careers coaching to any student. Especially if like me, you have a disability or other circumstance that can make applying for jobs seem intimidating’.
• Chiedza (Psychology in Education) Quote ‘I am so glad I reached out for this help as I doubt I would have achieved what I have this year without it’

• Busayo (Sociology with Criminology) case study 
• Max (Computer Science with Embedded Systems Engineering)
• Moise (Mathematics) 
• Tiffany (Electronic Engineering with Nanotechnology) 

Check you've read the ‘eligibility criteria’ section. If you are eligible and would like flexible, tailored careers support please complete the application form. 

Supported Career Planning application form

Applications are considered on a rolling basis and places will be allocated accordingly in line with availability. Final year undergraduates and recent graduates will be prioritised if we receive high volumes of applications. 

You can normally expect to hear the outcome of your application within 2-4 weeks. If you have been allocated a careers adviser, they will email you within this time to introduce themselves and suggest some possible dates/times for your first 1-1 session with them.

If we do not hear from you, we will send a follow up reminder email.  If we still don’t hear from you within 10 days of this reminder, we re-allocate your place to another student.

Any questions about Supported Career Planning should be directed to careers@york.ac.uk. Please note that emails to this address are not monitored outside of working hours.

Online resources

The following resources may be helpful for your situation:

• Exploring career ideas
• Next steps planner to work out what stage you're at and what to do next
• Looking for work - graduate jobs
• Applying for jobs - how to manage the recruitment process, including CVs, applications, interviews and assessments.

Talk to us...

Don’t forget, Careers and Placements are committed to supporting you whatever stage of your career journey you're at, current student or alumni. Whether or not you're eligible for Supported Career Planning, you can still talk to us:

• Come to a Careers Drop-In if you're on campus, 10am to 12 noon on the First Floor of the Harry Fairhurst Building, Monday to Thursday during semester time. Alternatively, Final Year Undergraduates and Graduates can book a careers advice appointment via Handshake. Not sure which is best for you? Find out more about our appointments.
• Send us a message via Handshake